Todd Rundgren - Live in San Francisco (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Something new for Todd fans. First off, all Todd fans will thoroughly enjoy seeing the Power Trio in concert on DVD....with great songs like Open My Eyes, Number One Lowest Common Denominator and the Ikon....great to finally get these songs live! Not that this title was a quicky (well maybe it was), but there are several things that bothered me about it, especially when comparing it to earlier releases. There are no liner notes or anything like that. There is nothing that takes advantage of the DVD format (no special features short of an index and a way to adjust the sound)....this point is a little upsetting because of Todd's love for anything digital. The camera angles are sometimes akward....can't explain it, but with 80% shot from a crane looking down at Todd, it just seems kind of wierd. Shots of Kasim are often fuzzy. As far as the music, sometimes its amazing, sometimes its tentative. There's also no chit-chat from Todd and with a very sparse stage and Kasim often stepping back during Todd's solos, it seems empty. Please understand that these are not complaints, just comments. I love the DVD and am going to watchi it over and over and over. Would I show it to my non-Todd friends (that's what us Todd fanatics do...try to convert people), I might lean towards some of the other titles. OK, so where is the Ringo Tour and the Abbey Road tour...we're all waiting for those!

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Rock's original Renaissance man brings his vast array of musical styles to the stage in this raucous live concert at Maritime Hall in San Francisco, California. Producer extraordinaire, writer of such hits as "I Saw the Light," "Hello, It's Me" and "Bang the Drum All Day," founder of the band Utopia and general music maverick, Todd Rundgren performs many of his greatest hits and a wealth of new tunes in this video capturing his live stage show. Songs: I Hate My Frickin ISP, Yer Fast, Black and White, Number 1 Lowest Common Denominator, Open My Eyes, Trapped, Love in Action, Bang the Drum All Day, Temporary Insanity, Medley: Mystified/Broke Down and Busted, Buffalo Grass, One World, The Ikon, Hammer in My Heart, World Wide Epiphany.

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Christina Aguilera - My Reflection (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)It would be easy to typecast Christina Aguilera as a teen phenomenon, but one viewing of this DVD should convince even the most anti-teen singer skeptics to realize the simple fact that her voice is one of the best in music today. This video, which is a compilation of her big pop hits, Christmas classics, cuts from her less radio-saturating Spanish-language album and a few choice covers is a view into Christina's ability to do what she does best - sing live.
She is lumped in with Britney Spears, but her vocal talent far exceeds that of her Britney and their other peers. Her cover of the Etta James classic "At Last" not only shows she has the voice, but the soul to go along with it. While other reviewers have commented negatively on her sometimes overly-theatrical vocal acrobatics, it's amazing to watch a young singer discover the power and range of her own voice. She does so on this DVD.
Few performers can match the quality of their studio recordings when performing live, and even fewer can exceed it. Christina Aguilera exceeds it, and we can only hope that she will continue to assert her artistic nature and branch out beyond the quick success of bubble gum pop and into bigger and better genres.
Whitney and Mariah - watch out!

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Pearl Jam - Touring Band 2000 (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)Having seen Pearl Jam live twice, and one of those times having been the summer of 2000, I was awaiting "Touring Band 2000" with mixed feelings. On the one hand, Pearl Jam play longer than any other band around, with sets routinely running 2.5 hours, and even then you want more. So it is only natural that a fan would want to recapture some of this experience at home. At the same time, though, there is so much energy at a PJ concert, I was worried that the DVD would seem flat.
I need not have worried, because the DVD is superb. There is a great mix of old and new, fast and slow songs. The transitions from one venue to the other are seemless, and the sound is outstanding (note, I'd recommend not using 5.1 channel surround, it sounds a little too processed that way). There is also the unique "Matt Cam" angle, which gives you the view from Matt Cameron's drum riser with a heavier percussive mix.
Where the DVD really shines though, is in the cinematography. It consists exclusively of hand held footage shot by the roadies. As a result the DVD presents a rough, in your face viewing that matches perfectly with the band itself. The mixture of wide shots covering the whole stage, close-ups on individual band members and pans of the crowd almost mimic the view of someone sitting in the front rows. I promise, if you crank this DVD loud enough, you'll feel like you're at a show.
As for the remaining features, the European montages are interesting, and the instrumentals they are set to are pretty cool; it's always nice to hear something new from PJ. Of course, it's nice to have a clean copy of the "Oceans" and "Do the Evolution" videos with decent sound. My personal favorite, however, were the outtakes from the North American Tour set to "Smile". Aside from the fact the song is one of my favorites, and aside from the fact the Pearl Jam dressed up as The Village People is worth the price of the disc, it really captures the essence of the band. They're genuinely having fun; they aren't in it for the money, they're in it because they love the music and they love their fans. In this day and age that's pretty special...and so's this DVD.

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The first Pearl Jam full-length DVD features three hours of live and montage footage from the band's 2000 U.S. and European tours.The main body of the DVD program is comprised of 28 full song performances filmed in various cities on the band's 2000 48-city U.S. tour, reflecting the time and composition of an actual concert set list. The DVD was filmed by Pearl Jam crew members Liz Burns, Steve Gordon, and Kevin Shuss without directors or producers. An additional 50 minutes of special bonus features includes footage from the band's 2000 European tour, backstage footage, previously unreleased music, special consumer-chosen camera angles, the previously unreleased video for "Oceans," and more. Edited by Steve Gordon. Recorded and mixed by Brett Eliason and engineered by John Burton.Track list: Long Road, Corduroy, Grievance, Animal, Gods' Dice, Evacuation, Given to Fly, Dissident, Nothing as It Seems, Evenflow, Lukin, Not for You, Daughter (into "It's OK" by Dead Moon), Untitled, MFC, Thin Air, Leatherman, Betterman, Nothingman, Insignificance, I Got Shit, RVM, Wishlist, Jeremy, Evolution, Don't Go, Parting Ways, Rocking in the Free WorldSpecial bonus features:Stationary "Matt-cam" footage is available with a heavier percussion mix for two of the songs featured on the main body of the DVD: "Evacuation" and "Even Flow" and also for "In My Tree." (The "Matt-cam" is a special camera positioned behind drummer Matt Cameron that the consumer can switch to while viewing the DVD.)European montages: City, band, and fan montages from the European tour with "Yellow Ledbetter" live and previously unreleased instrumentals recorded by Pearl Jam during early Binaural sessions. Instrumentals titled: "Thunderclap," "Foldback," and "Harmony."Outtakes of band on U.S. tour, set to the song "Smile""Do the Evolution" video--animated by Todd McFarlane"Oceans" video--never before released in the U.S. directed by Josh Taft

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Shakira: Live & Off The Record Review

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(More customer reviews)As a gentleman with a bit of grey in my hair, I've been privileged to have seen almost every major act that came down the road. I saw this concert at another stop on the tour, and I must say I was completely and breathlessly KNOCKED OUT by Shakira's performance, on every professional and ethereal level. The atmosphere in the arena was as highly charged as I've ever experienced, and her entrance as you'll witness on this disc was dramatic, mysterious, sensual and almost otherworldly. When those lights hit the snake and the opening chords of Ojos Asi were struck... and as she began to move... and as she seemed to float forward to the mike... I'll tell you, it was a life moment, I'll never forget it. It was genuinely surreal. What was SO incredible, however, was that by the time the song was about to end and we had seen her movement, heard her voice, and felt the powerful and exotic wall of sound reduce to a simple violin phrase, the crowd was almost silent, as though dumbstruck. Few entrances and opening numbers have ever left me speechless... but this did. As to the DVD, it's A+ in every regard except for being the single most poorly edited video I've ever sat through. A blind editor would have done a better job. Otherwise the show is great, sound is great, camerawork when left alone for more than one second is good (this speed freak MTV five shots a second nonsense must end!), this woman has perhaps the most beautiful face since Bardot and she moves like an opium dream. Buy it and see why Britney and Christina cut their tours short - they obviously watched this DVD!

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No Description AvailableNo Track Information AvailableMedia Type: DVDArtist: SHAKIRATitle: LIVE & OFF THE RECORDStreet Release Date: 03/30/2004

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